Challenger Drops Out Of UES Assembly Race With Voting Underway

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An independent challenger for a State Assembly seat on the Upper East Side dropped out of the race on Saturday, weeks after a court ruling kicked him off the ballot due to residency issues.

Patrick Bobilin, an activist mounting a progressive challenge to incumbent Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright in the 76th District, initially prevailed when a State Supreme Court judge ruled last month that he could stay on the General Election ballot despite having spent time outside of New York before 2016. (State law requires candidates to live in New York for five years prior to the election.)

On Sept. 30, though, an appeals court panel sided with the Seawright campaign, who brought the challenge against Bobilin, and ruled that he was ineligible after all. The court has yet to rule on Bobilin's motion to re-argue the case.

Bobilin maintains that the ruling was wrongly decided, pointing to a decision from earlier this year that allowed another Assembly challenger to stay on the ballot despite residency issues. His name still appears on an initial round of ballots printed before the court ruling but has been removed from remaining ballots, he said Monday.

Related: Upper East Side Assembly Race Turns Turbulent: What To Know

Seawright, meanwhile, now faces an abnormally competitive General Election fight against Republican Lou Puliafito. Seawright, a Democrat, has been forced to run as an independent after being booted off the Democratic ticket this spring for failing to file paperwork on time.

Those strange circumstances have brought an unusual amount of attention to the election, being held in a district that is normally a Democratic stronghold. This month, NY1 named it one of five races to watch around the city.

Seawright has been boosted by a $100,000 donation from the state Democratic Party, seeking to protect its incumbents, according to a report by Newsday. Party leaders including presidential nominee Joe Biden and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have also endorsed Seawright in recent days.

Bobilin, meanwhile, has already turned his attention to the future: on Saturday, he said he plans to run again in the Democratic primary in 2022.

Read Patch's Upper East Side voter guide here.

Related coverage from Patch:

• Upper East Side Assembly Race Turns Turbulent: What To Know
• Judge Dismisses Eligibility Challenge In UES Assembly Race
• Activist Launches Independent Run For UES State Assembly Seat
• UES Incumbent Kicked Off Ballot Will Run As Independent